Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers For the Future: The Prophecy of Inverse ❯ A Hiero is Born….Little Lost Inverse ( Chapter 3 )

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Chapter 3

A Hiero is Born….Little Lost Inverse

~ Sakura Village ~

"Hello, Miss Akoushi, buying a lot as usual. My, you look radiant today, how close is the birth?" an overly perky store clerk asked the redhead, who's stomach was quite large. The woman herself was chewing on a turkey leg at the moment, already half done with it.

"Its been almost a good nine months, Prisera, the local priestess said I should be due in a few weeks, if not sooner. It'll be nice to finally get this kid out of me. Then we can stop sharing and throwing up our meals together. Oh….darn, this kid kicks hard. It's almost as if the baby can hear me. Little scamp….ow…..vicious little scamp." Serene Akoushi chuckled, patting the cart she'd been pushing around stuff to the brim with food in a delicious looking mountain.

"That's nice to hear. What are you hoping for? Have you picked out names yet?" Prisera asked, getting a light smile and another few gasps from Serene. "Mmm, I don't care, it's my baby. It'll be fine whatever it turns out to be. This is my first pregnancy, Prisera. I've been having trouble with naming the baby though, maybe Mia or Leila for a girl, but for a boy I can only get one name." Serene replied, gripping her stomach again, nearly dropping her turkey leg.

"And what's that….Serene….hey Serene!" Prisera was saying, then saw Serene was grabbing her stomach rather roughly, moaning loud and painfully. "Oh damn." Serene let out. "What? What's wrong?" Prisera asked coming around the counter to support the gasping young woman. "My water broke. Oh….the baby's coming. Quick, you have to get me to the shrine! Oh….by L-sama, this kid wants OUT!" Serene shouted, nearly deafening the clerk as a contraction made her scream in her face.

~ Temple of Sakura Township ~

"OWW! OW!! OW!! Get this kid out of me!!!! OW!! Hurry up, this is killing me!!" Serene screamed, nearly breaking Prisera's hand as she gripped it. What no one else knew, not even Prisera, was that this woman wasn't really named Serene Akoushi, she was the great nightmare sorceress Lina Inverse, the Drammata.

She had changed her name the moment she reached this town, very out of the way of everything, hidden in the mountains where it snowed heavily in the winter, but it was hotter than the Hellmaster's bedroom in the summer. It was well out of the way of normal travelers, her cottage just on the outskirts of town, always kept warm thanks to her superior mind….and some of her fire magic.

The pregnancy had been difficult at first, but soon Lina had gotten used to the idea she was going to have a baby. Hiding herself was essential, if anyone found that Lina Inverse was going to have a baby, the enemy of all that lived pregnant. They'd have never given her a moments peace with her pregnancy, most predictably interpreting the child would be like its mother, a holy terror as Gourry had once put it and promptly got fireballed in the face then in the ass. It happened a month before he skipped out on the group with Amelia, and it still stung.

'Not as much as this kid does on the way out!!' her mind reminded herself, and she loud out terrible scream. "Push, Miss Akoushi, I can see the head. One more good push!" the priest coaxed her, priestess all around him acting as nurses. "Ok….here goes. Oh! Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!" she screamed, gritting her teeth as she gave her hardest push, anything to make the pain of childbirth go away.

She waited a moment, the pain stopping when she did, her entire body heaving. No sound, she heard nothing until half-consciously she heard the priest spank the baby. She was relieved to hear a startled baby cry, then grimaced as it became a gurgling and then coos mixed with tiny breaths. "Miss Akoushi, it's a boy." Quickly now, clean the baby up, my priestesses. I'll heal Miss Akoushi up."

She felt much better when her split private began to heal, then felt it being wiped free of blood and discharge from the birth. Everything felt nice, she would rather be Dragon Slaved than ever do that again. 'A son….oh, at least I decided on that name.' She thought, smiling dumbly up at Prisera.

"A boy, Serene, a little baby boy. Congratulations….what will you name him? You never told me," Prisera grinned, shaking her very bruised hand gently," Could you heal this too, my pinky is lopsided, Priest Devin."

The priest nodded and started work on her hand once Lina was all cleaned up. The priestesses were all near the baby, who was currently cooing quietly. They seemed to be whispering things to each other, but too low for Lina to hear. "Serene, the name. I am dying to hear it." Prisera asked as her hand was healed up.

"Oh, sorry….my mind wandered. His name will be Hiero, an "i" before the "e", remember that Priest Devin. You know, the name that means holy." Lina told them, getting a bright nod from the old man. "I am familiar with the name. I do read, Miss Akoushi. It's a very sacred name. Why did you choose it for your son? Out of curiosity." Priest Devin asked her.

Cold fire clenched to my heart
In the blue of night
Torn by this pain, I paint your name in sound
And the boy of the dawn
With eyes of blue, and angel wings
The songs of the season are his only crown

"It came to me in a dream, really. It sounded just like hero, so I thought what the heck. I looked it up in the name encyclopedia and found it was real, like I was being guided to it or something. I knew how it was spelled. Weird, huh?" Lina giggled, getting smiles from both people.

"Um, Priest Devin, would you mind coming over here for a second?" One of the priestesses called, he eyes a little sad. Lina shared the looked when she saw it, trying to get up, but Prisera forced her back down. "What's wrong? What's wrong with my son?" Lina demanded as Devin walked over to the priestesses. They were talking to him in low tones, pointing at the baby.

The priest himself was now craning his neck over the baby, then cast a slight light spell at the cooing baby. After that he waved his hand at him, getting nothing but cooing. He looked ready to poke the baby in the eyes before pulling his hands away, looking sullenly over at Lina. "What? Don't stare at me like a dumb animal, what is it?" Lina said, tears filling her eyes, her voice breaking.

"Your son….is blind, Miss Akoushi. He doesn't even react to movement like most babies and he didn't even blink at the light spell. I'm so sorry." He told her, Lina's world coming crashing to halt with great sorrow.

Broken mirror, a million shades of light
The old echo fades away
But just you and I
Can find the answer. And then,
We can run to the end of the world….
We can run to the end of the world….

"Blind….at birth. Let me see my baby now. I want to look at him. Please. Before I'm too weak to even do that." Lina plead, her eyes filling with tears. The priest nodded and picked the baby up, wrapped in a warm blanket. He set her down in her arms and the baby's eyes opened slightly, slits of sapphire blue shining out of them. He had a tuft of similar colored hair atop his head as well, his cooing long gone.

She touched his face gently, not seeing that few tears had hit his small face. The baby sputter and looked blindly towards where the wet drops were coming from, not really focusing on anything except the tears hitting his face. His eyes opened all the way as he did this, the sapphire eyes making everyone that was looking at the beautiful blind baby gasp in shock.

"M….m….m….Mazuko eyes, he has Mazuko eyes!" the priestess to Devin's left stuttered out before fainting, the other priestesses and Prisera following her lead. The priest only stared, touching the baby's face to inspect his eyes. "Blind eyes like a Mazuko. Dear Miss Akoushi, who is this child's father?" Devin asked, getting only an angry reply from Lina.

"Stop it, he's a beautiful baby. I don't care what his eyes look like. Don't you be so judgmental. He's beautiful! He's my baby. He's my little Hiero. Mine, my little boy. I'll love him forever and nothing you can say will make me think otherwise….and it doesn't matter who is father was. His father….I never told his father I was pregnant. We've been apart for a very long time." Lina shouted at him, her voice faltering as she thought of the boy's father, dear sweet Zelgadis.

We met in the mist of morning
And parted deep in the night
Broken sword and shield, and tears that never fall,
But run through the heart
Washed away by the darkest water
The world is peaceful and still.

Devin just smiled. "Not a problem, Miss Akoushi. I will keep this under my robes, by the honor of my priesthood. You and your boy will remain safe, I promise. Hmm, such devotion from a mother is a beautiful thing, this boy is very lucky to have someone so brave for his mother," he told her, taking the baby gently out of her arms," You can take him home in the morning. You just rest. He'll be just fine."

Lina nodded, the burst of anger already having sapped what little energy she had left. She leaned back into her pillow, her eyes swiftly growing heavy, taking her down into her dreams. "Thank you, Devin, you have to tell me that oath sometime, it makes me appreciate life a little more." She whispered gently, her mind engulfed in sleep seconds later.

Devin looked back at her, gently shutting his eyes as he took the baby out of the room, an amused smile crossing his lips. "Sorry….Lina-chan, but that is a secret. Hee….hee." he said, his voice changing as his form rippled darkly as he made his way to the nursery.

~

The real Priest Devin was still asleep on his bed, now being fed false memories of Lina giving birth by none other than the trickster priest, Xellos Metallium. He'd placed the suddenly agitated baby in the nursery, nearly getting a clump of his purple hair yanked out of his head as he tried to shush him. It was if the baby knew not to like him.

'With eyes like those, maybe he does know. Oh please, a baby Mazuko from Lina Inverse and Zelgadis Greywords? That's rich. Technically, he should be 1/3 thanks to Zel-kun, should be anyway. Still, I don't feel any Mazuko presence inside him. Maybe his eyes are a fluke. Not my job to ponder, only to observe for Xellas.' He thought, glad the little baby with the Mazuko eyes was well out of his own sight, even if his eyes were still closed as he phased out of the shrine and back to Wolf Pack Island, Xellas domain.

She was laying on her dark throne as always, waiting patiently with her wolf-like grace, puffing on her cigarette and had a drink just beside her. What Xellos hadn't expected was the lunatic Deep Sea Dolphin to be there. He gave her his usual smile, making her sputter and swear at him, but he went on smiling. He loved bothering her, giving her the ability to see the future drove her insane in the first place. The fact that he'd been the one to do it made it all the more fun.

"Mistress Xellas, Lina Inverse gave birth to a son. A blind son with eyes like

mine. Sapphire blue though, if you want to be particular, his hair as well." He reported cheerfully, Xellas using her free hand to run it through her long white hair, her golden eyes glimmering at him. "Blind. Hmm, just like Deep Sea here said. Unseeing child of ultimate power. The son of chaos, he's finally been born, dear little Xellos. Deep Sea and I have been waiting nine long months for this chaotic event. This boy could be the most powerful being alive now, perhaps more so than the Great One herself" Xellas said languidly, Deep Sea Dolphin nodding rapidly, twirling her long blue hair in her finger erratically.

"Xellos little prank came in handy at last….but oh no….no….no….no! We must watch him. I only saw his birth through Lina Inverse's future….I can't see past it. Oh, dear, I can't see his damn future…..oh…." Deep Sea was whining, her eyes seeming to bulge out of her head at Xellos, who went on smiling, though her words puzzled him. "My gift to you should work on him too. That is a bit strange, but then again so are you, fish face, you're probably going senile in your ancient age." He suggested, smiling on an on, opening on of his amethyst eyes to her.

"Xellos….not now." Xellas warned rather cheerfully, taking a deep draw from her cigarette. Xellos shut his eye and nodded with a bow to his mistress. "Yes, mistress. Now what would you ask me to do about Deep Sea's sudden lapse of fortune telling?" he asked politely as ever.

Xellas just grinned her wolf-like smile, prettier on her face than it would be on Xellos', though his smile could get pretty predatory, making him look tougher and bit more appealing, he thought so anyway. "I want you to observe, of course, dear little Xellos. Watch this boy grow, report any signs of magic or strength potential, magic especially. His father was that darling chimera, perhaps that is why the Chaos child got pregnant, perhaps not, but even the Lord of Nightmares knows why someone who can never have a baby suddenly can have one out of the….hmmm, hmmm, blue. Watch him closely, Xellos, he could be the key to having a lot of delicious sorrow appear in this world. Don't you agree?" she told him, getting a nod and boy from him, the same cheery smile plastered across his face.

"I'll begin immediately, mistress. Your plan sounds wonderful. I will report back when I can. Bye….oh yeah, so long fish face." Xellos snickered out, vanishing from the two Mazuko Lords' sight.

~ 2 Years Later ~

"Hiero Inverse?! Where are you? Stop hiding! You're making you Mom a nervous wreck." Lina shouted outside, looking around nervous for her son. When she saw a little boy with sapphire blue hair walking out of the bushes with a small puppy in his arms. The puppy was swinging its head around, forcing Hiero to stop moving until it looked at his mother. His eyes shut slightly, but it didn't matter. He couldn't see regardless.

The puppy's eyes were his eyes for the moment, a channeling spell she taught him when he was getting the hand of speaking, which had been rather early for Hiero. He'd started walking before he had his first birthday and spouted the cutest "Mama" when he reached his first birthday. She'd been so happy when he said his first word, she'd nearly let the cake get covered in wax while she hugged and kissed him for such a long time.

He'd gotten the puppy for his second birthday, after she'd help him master the channeling spell. He could manage great mental control over the spell, thinking it rather than saying it to make it work, but she'd never taught him anymore spells. She wanted Hiero to live a nice, normal life, not grow up to be like his mother. He had been a very well behaved and mannered baby and was even better as a toddler.

She'd never changed a diaper or dealt with him crying at two in the morning, nothing. He would crawl to the outhouse himself, which scared her. She'd taken him to priest Devin time and time again to ask if he was all right, since he wasn't acting like most babies. She'd seen babies in her time and they needed constant care, changing, supervision, and above all, they did not have self-control over their bodies just yet, but Hiero didn't have any of that. He was the sweetest, cleanest and quietest baby in the entire town, but his Mazuko eyes set him apart from the rest of the children and him being blind didn't make it any easier.

He just couldn't play or rather refused to play with "ill-mannered brats" that called him a little blind devil. He seemed so deep in thought when he'd say it, as if he was registering things around him he shouldn't be. She'd taken him out of the school she'd tried putting him in when he came home with that shooting from his small mouth, tears running down his face. It was the first and last time she'd ever seen him cry, after that he acted pretty sullen, just like Zelgadis once was.

Now he just sat at home with the tutor she'd hired for him to be schooled. He was excelling well as far as the tutor was telling her, learning quite better than most two-year-olds. She had to admit that putting him in school at such a young age was a bit pushy, but she wanted him to be smart. By doing this, he could be a priest or something unrelated to nightmare magic, nothing related to what she used to do, even if she sorely miss those wonderful days filled with adventure.

Looking at Hiero now, she could already see the angry yet sullen expression on her son's face as the puppy kept squirming. Hiero looked like she did when was about to punch Gourry, but he didn't hit the dog. He waited a moment for the dog to glance his mother's way, then smiled, walking in that direction even as the puppy struggled once more. When he reached her, he didn't look up, he stared at her dress blankly, his lips a thin line.

"I told you not to wander off, Hiero. Its spring, I know, but its still a bit brisk out. I don't want you to catch cold." She scolded. Hiero nodded, reaching a hand up to her. It was his subtle way of asking to be picked up when he didn't feel like asking, or was too angry or sad about something to voice it.

"Hiero?" she asked picking him and his puppy up. "Where's my Daddy?" he asked quietly, his small voice a little breathy, childlike and sad. His eyes were open now, the blind yet sparkling sapphire pupils staring at nothingness. They had no irises, that's what people noted upon first glance, but they looked so terribly Mazuko, so evil yet so innocent at the same time on the child's face. His hair was as soft as silk, softer maybe, his sapphire hair clinging to his small face, the black headband he wore lifting his bangs up slightly. He looked so angelic, so handsome for someone so small and delicate.

"I don't know, baby. I….don't know anymore. You know he didn't leave us, you know that right?" she told him. The boy seemed to smirk, but she couldn't tell. "You left him. You were afraid, Mama. I know….fear is a bad thing. It makes you change….like all the kids at school changed when I opened my eyes. They were different." He said in a similar tone," I'm hungry now, Mama. Ripper is too."

'Ripper, what nasty name for a wiener dog. Why he named it that I'll never know…..but aside from his father's attitude and looks, he's inherited my appetite. At least my figure came back or he'd be picked on for having young, fat, and unmarried mother too. Well, at least my chest stayed big….not as suffocating as Naga, just right. My little Hiero, in so many ways.' She thought, hugging her son tightly as she took him and Ripper inside for a big supper.

After wolfing down ten plates of chicken, potatoes, gravy, and rice, Hiero ripped through his apple pie dessert in the blink of an eye. He never seemed to gain any weight either, always as small and lithe as he been when his eating habits increased in need. He got more food on his shirt and face than in his mouth, but he was trying.

She gave him a nice hot bath before tucking him into bed, Ripper sleeping in his little baskets, having puppy dreams that made him whimper softly. It was a cute scene, Hiero always looked so much more peaceful when he slept, like she had a living angel in her home. Lina sighed deeply as she left the room, letting out a quiet yawn and stretched as she walked towards her bedroom.

~

Hiero waited at least a half an hour after he heard his mother's door close, then waited for the creaks of her bed to sound before timing her. When the minutes counted out, he slipped out of his bed and pulled on his tunic and pants over his underwear before creeping over to his puppy. It had been a thoughtful gift, as fidgety as Ripper was, but reading a dog's mind was a waste of time and controlling it was even harder.

People were easier to read, like his mother and those around him. He was cute and loyal, Hiero had been deeply touched by his mother's gift. He only wished he could see Ripper. He cursed Delphine silently for taking his sight away, for how long he would be blind was a mystery. Delphine still talked to him, telling him to be patient and the price would be lifted.

Hiero had been robbed of his childhood before, but now he wasn't going to see it through his eyes. He was being forced to see it through the eyes of colorblind and many-eyed creatures. Bugs and lizards were a little more reliable than Ripper was . Their eyes faced forward more often that his hyper puppy. Ripper was good enough for now, but if the dog was going to pass out on him, he could always find a fly or a roach to channel through, though reading books at millions of angles made him dizzy.

He was also able to see through people's thoughts, gathering what they looked like and felt like, even what they were thinking at that very moment. None of it was ever good if he was around, unless it was his mother. She had such wonderful thoughts, thoughts of the past. Dipping into her sleeping mind was even better, no walls for him to try and break through, nothing to hint to her that he was telepathic. It was safer for her that way. Ripper was actually pretty cooperative at first as he made his way down to the fruit cellar, where his mother hid spell books and scrolls.

He wondered how she'd been towing all this around with his father for so long and not really looked like she was holding more than just a bedroll. He didn't care, the books and scrolls were here, his ticket to great magic in this world, Nightmare and Shamanism being the best there was.

When Ripper tried to yelp when Hiero opened the first book, Hiero finally had had enough. "Enhance Calm…." He cast upon the animal, thinking for the dog to just look at the books and to be quiet. The white magic spell was fairly easy to learn, white magic being the first thing he learned from Priest Devin when his mother sent him to learn there. He had been sent back when Devin claimed she should wait until Hiero was little older, give him time to be a child.

Hiero had liked hearing that, but in the few days he'd been there, he'd made himself stay awake three day straight holding a bird up to the books to learn and master the spells. He never really showed that he had learned anything to the priest or his mother, but he liked it that way. She seemed a bit antsy about him toying with magic spells from the start.

He sighed lightly as he began to read up on his Shamanism and nightmare magic. 'Like the Dark Magic back home…..only these spells are a bit better….al I could do back home was dismember people and raise the dead. These spells are very interesting. When I use them, I'll make sure they're aimed at something I don't like….maybe that blonde bozo or the princess of justice that hurt my mom….no, she'd spank me for that. I can't show her I know these spells, not when I'm just a little kid. She'll freak.' He thought, reading over the spirit spells of the magic he was reading up on.

"Ra Tilt….sounds nasty. If I recall correctly, my father can cast that spell. I wish he'd find us already. I want to meet him before I hit puberty….again." he muttered, small smile on his face. From the nights he'd heard his mother crying softly, not soft enough to elude his hearing, he'd hear her mutter his father's name, Zelgadis.

He was well aware of how much she hurt inside having to leave her true love like that two years ago. He'd seen and heard the whole event through his mother's body, and couldn't help but feel for them. His parents, separated because of fear, fear of what Delphine did to her when his parents made love for the first time. He prayed, in his own way, that Zelgadis would find them and be his father, no matter what. He was tired of seeing his mother all alone, crying herself to sleep whenever Hiero seemed to do something cute or extraordinary.

He only did it to seem somewhat more like a normal little boy, things he'd taken for granted in his first life, that life, so hungry for strength and power, going against his goddess' own son to prove he could be so much more than a little boy. He could be strong, respected, famous, a hero. He got all of that, at the cost of his hometown, his mother and father, his everything. He became the man who hid in the shadows, the one who was known for nothing but secrets and prophecy.

As the years ran down, he started to gain fame, but he no longer desired it. He just wanted to die, that was all, having lived such a long and heroic life, he wanted to at last find peace. 'Lies….I sealed my own fate by being so ambitious so soon, but this time will be different. I'll get to keep this family, a mother and father, maybe ever friends. This word has so many possibilities....much more than that boring little mud ball called Terrian. Good riddance.' He thought, flipping through the pages as he memorized the spells word for word.

He knew he'd have to cast these new shamanism spirit spells when his mother went to town for food, giving him plenty of free time to work the spells right. His memory was as perfect as it had been before, seeing the words right after reading them. He loved that ability, being born into him in the first life, before the immortal mess of things came about. He sighed again and got to the last few pages, the dog obediently staring at them in its magical trance.

What Hiero had expected when he closed the last book of his mother's collection was to hear a low thud, but what he got was a loud bang, like a door being swung open and slammed into a wall. The angry voice was unexpected as well. "Hiero!!! What are you doing with Mommy's books?!" Lina screamed, making the dog whine and run away from Hiero and out of the fruit cellar, leaving the boy blind and alone with his fuming mother.

"Um….looking at the pictures." He tried, but she wasn't buying it. He felt himself get lifted up, his mother swiftly carrying him right out of the cellar before setting him down again. He waited a while before he heard a lock being put in place, then heard it being slammed loudly against the cellar door before he was picked up again, a sharp smack hitting his rear.

'She spanked me….well, once….I'm lucky I'm so cute as a little kid or she'd fireball me.' He thought, his next sensation being dropped onto a bed.

"Never again, Hiero, never touch or look at Mommy's books ever again. They are bad books, only adults can read them. I have told you never to go in that fruit cellar and I meant business, young man. Now, you go to sleep right now, I'll…go find Ripper. Do we understand each other?" she fumed, her eyes twitching madly and her face bright red with anger.

Hiero wasn't aware of this, all he knew was that his sensitive little ears hurt from her loud tone and he could feel great heat hitting his face. 'Man, she's really pissed off this time. Last time she got this steamed was when I got pelted with rotten fruit at the market. Those poor dopes never knew what hit them….glad I'm not a dope. I'm a cute little boy.' He thought, putting on his best pout and sullen eyes.

"Yes, Mommy, I'm sorry I made you mad. I won't do it again. Promise." He said, making his voice a little quivery. His mother patted his shoulder, taking his clothes off all over again before tucking him back in.

He listened to her footsteps leave the room, then stop suddenly. He kept his eyes shut, content with the warm quilts upon his tiny body. "I'm not kidding, Hiero. I know you're a very smart little boy, but Mommy is smarter. Be good, ok….don't give Mommy anymore grief, ok?" she pleaded, sounding a bit sad this time.

"Yes, Mommy. Night." He chirped, nuzzling his little body into his bed comfortably. He heard the door short, but he wasn't going to leave his room this time. 'I got everything I wanted already, Mother. I can get in there to make sure of that when you go for food. Sorry, but I need those spells….to keep you all with me forever. I have to protect you all….please, mother, I hope you can understand that someday.' He thought, smiling gently.

"I love you, Mama….it'll always be like that." He whispered, then he began to dream.

Broken mirror, a million shades of light
The old echo fades away
But just you and I
Can find the answer. And then,
We can run to the end of the world
We can run to the end of the world
Run to the end of the world.…

~

'Cute….he's read all of her spells and scrolls. He could easily cast any one of those spells on her, but why won't he? Not that I'd like to see Lina-chan Dragon Slaved, but he is capable of it.' Xellos thought, staring through the boy's window, just floating upside-down in a sitting position.

He'd been watching the boy during his two years of life, watching him cast spells deep in the woods where his mother never ventured. He'd even killed a rogue troll that tried to eat him with Bomb Brand. It had tired the boy, but only for a short while.

He was amazing in his mental and spiritual control, he was almost making him giddy with fear at the potential the boy could have when he got older. 'Fish face might have been right, he might be more powerful that even the Lord of Nightmares….then why did she let this pregnancy go through if that's true? What are you hiding, little Hiero? What are you waiting for?' he wondered, opening his amethyst Mazuko eyes fully, grinning almost wolf-like at the sleeping child.

"Well, child, you'll be getting your wish soon enough. Daddy isn't far off….give it a year, kid, he'll be here. Let's see how that little bit goes….when you have something else to be blackmailed with when Xellas wants you for good." He chuckled happily, disappearing from his spot.

To Be Continued….